De Souza Rings the Changes at Bells

“This is the most important event on tour to me,” De Souza said. “Guys like Andy Irons, Kelly Slater, my hero Mick Fanning, they have all rung the Bell. I have been coming here a lot of years. I love the place."

"It has been a tough time for me recently. I started 2013 without a sponsor for the first time in many years. I had to believe in myself that a company would believe in me and one did. I have to say thanks to Pena for believing in me. I have a lot of people to thank, but all I want to do right now is ring the bell.” Adriano De Souza

"It was a huge event for me,” Nat Young said. “Just to be in the field is a dream for me. I’ve looked up to the surfers in this event my whole life. The event has such a history behind it and I was honestly just excited to be here. Making the Final, I don’t even have words for it. "

“It’s a hard one to take but you can’t give anyone an inch on tour these days,” Taj Burrow said. “Nat Young has been surfing so well. He’s a rookie, but he’s really polished and really dangerous. I’ll take a 3rd though and refocus for Brazil.”

“Definitely disappointed that the score didn’t come in for me at the end,” Jordy said. “I really wanted to ring that Bell and felt like I’ve been surfing well all week. Congrats to Adriano (de Souza) though. He’s been ripping. Everyone’s been ripping and there have been some interesting results. Makes the year interesting. I’ll take the momentum into Brazil.”

“You never want to lose and especially in clean waves in the bowl,” Slater said. “I tweaked my back a few days ago and am nowhere near 100% so I have to go get an MRI on it. That said, Willian (Cardoso) smoked me. Plain as that. He was surfing really well and really powerful so congrats to him. We’ll just have to see what happens during the rest of the event with the other top guys. It’s a long year though.”

“No one ever wants to lose,” Parkinson (pictured) said. No one wants to lose with a 10 and a 9 either, but Raoni (Monteiro) is surfing really well and if he beats me with those kind of scores then he definitely deserves credit. Losing out at Bells early is a lost opportunity, but it’s a long season ahead. I’m going to regroup and focus on Brazil.”

DE SOUZA is the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach champion, downing a flying Nat Young in the final and becoming the first South American to win here in 52 years.

When asked halfway through the event if he felt overshadowed by Gabby Medina, De Souza pointed out he was the highest ranked Brazilian. "Ding dong" chimed the Bell's bell in agreement shortly before flying out of Adriano's hands and clanging across the stage. Brazilians aren't meant to dominate here and the bell rolling across the stage served as a fitting metaphor for the destructive graffiti wrecked by the likes of De Souza, Cardoso and Toledo on the Aussie walls of Bells Beach.

I have been coming here a lot of years. I love the place. It has been a tough time for me recently. I started 2013 without a sponsor for the first time in many years. I had to believe in myself that a company would believe in me and one did.De Souza

“This is the most important event on tour to me,” De Souza said. “Guys like Andy Irons, Kelly Slater, my hero Mick Fanning, they have all rung the Bell. I have been coming here a lot of years. I love the place. It has been a tough time for me recently. I started 2013 without a sponsor for the first time in many years. I had to believe in myself that a company would believe in me and one did. I have to say thanks to Pena for believing in me. I have a lot of people to thank, but all I want to do right now is ring the bell.”

De Souza’s win today vaults the young South American to world number 4 heading into the third event on tour in, his home event of Brazil. “I feel comfortable at home." He said. "But there is also pressure to perform. I am going to enjoy this win, recharge for the next one and hopefully I can keep it going.”

Cue chat about the Brazzo invasion and the changing of the guard, whereas in truth it probably isn't half as interesting as it may appear. John John is injured, Slater has a bad back like most 40-somethings, Parko had to lose his consistent streak, Fanning creased his board, Medina is a shadow of of his pre-injury self. This was a great event to be a goofy and you could even call 2013 the return of the goofy, lead not least by Nat Young who was out there at dawn every day getting used to the vagaries of Rincon and The Bowl, dedication which almost paid off in a rookie win.

“It was a huge event for me,” Young said. “Just to be in the field is a dream for me. I’ve looked up to the surfers in this event my whole life. The event has such a history behind it and I was honestly just excited to be here. Making the Final, I don’t even have words for it. Of course I wanted to win it. I want to ring the bell as much as anyone else on tour. Don’t get to it this year, but a Runner-Up finish is a big result for me and I’ll take that into the next one.”

Young’s Runner-Up finish today pushes him to number 5, tied with reigning ASP World Champion Joel Parkinson on the ASP WCT rankings.

It’s a hard one to take but you can’t give anyone an inch on tour these days,” Burrow said. “Nat Young has been surfing so well. He’s a rookie, but he’s really polished and really dangerous. I’ll take a 3rd though and refocus for Brazil.Taj Burrow

Taj Burrow, perennial ASP World Title threat, continued his blistering Bells Beach run this morning against compatriot Kai Otton, in the Quarterfinals before coming up short to Young in their Semifinal bout. “It’s a hard one to take but you can’t give anyone an inch on tour these days,” Burrow said. “Nat Young has been surfing so well. He’s a rookie, but he’s really polished and really dangerous. I’ll take a 3rd though and refocus for Brazil.”

Jordy Smith was one of the form surfers at Bells Beach throughout the event window, consistently notching up high-scoring rides. The powerful South African’s run was ended, however, in the Semifinals at the hands of De Souza.

“Definitely disappointed that the score didn’t come in for me at the end,” Jordy said. “I really wanted to ring that Bell and felt like I’ve been surfing well all week. Congrats to Adriano (de Souza) though. He’s been ripping. Everyone’s been ripping and there have been some interesting results. Makes the year interesting. I’ll take the momentum into Brazil.”